Container for corrosive products to be stored under pressure

ABSTRACT

Container for corrosive fluids to be stored under pressure comprises a strong, rigid, perforate can carrying a filling and dispensing valve and an inner plastic bag impermeable to liquids but permeable to gases, the interior of which is connected to said valve.

[75] Inventor:

United States Patent [19 1 Morane 1 CONTAINER FOR CORROSIVE PRODUCTS TOBE STORED UNDER PRESSURE Bruno P. Morane, Paris, France [73] Assignee:LOreal, Paris, France [22] Filed: June 1, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 148,396

[52] U.S. Cl. 222/397 [51] Int. Cl B65d 83/14 [58] Field of Search222/105, 397, 183,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,816,691 12/1957 Ward..222/183 1 June 12, 1973 Benson 222/397 3,622,051 11/1971 3,135,4316/1964 Matthewson et a1. 222/183 3,422,992 1/1969 Brooks et a1 222/394FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 382,378 11/1964 Switzerland 220/63 RPrimary Examiner-Stanley H. Tollberg Attorney-Ho1combe, Wetherill &Brisebois [57] ABSTRACT Container for corrosive fluids to be storedunder pressure comprises a strong, rigid, perforate can carrying afilling and dispensing valve and an inner plastic bag impermeable toliquids but permeable to gases, the interior of which is connected tosaid] valve.

4 Claims, 1 Drawing Figure CONTAINER FOR CORROSIVE PRODUCTS TO BE STOREDUNDER PRESSURE SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION When products which arerelatively corrosive and have a tendency to decompose are stored underpressure there is always a risk that they will corrode the container.When the container is a metallic can of the aerosol bomb type it hasalready been suggested that the walls of the container be internallycoated in a manner which will protect the metal against possible attackby the products stored therein. However, if this product is neverthelesscapable of decomposition which will produce gas, such a coating will notprevent the possible creation of an excessive pressure inside the can,which is then capable of exploding.

It has already been suggested that the product be enclosed within a bagof deformable plastic material adapted to separate the product from themetallic walls of the container. The results are not, however, entirelysatisfactory, because the sheets of plastic material composing the bagswhich hold the products are permeable to gas so that the decompositiongases which may be formed inside the bag diffuse through the walls ofthe bag and come into contact with the metallic walls of the containerand neither the risk of corroding these metallic walls nor the risk ofan explosive pressure are avoided. a

It is the purpose of the present invention to provide a new containerforproducts under pressure which is adapted to avoid both the abovementioned disadvantages.

It is the specific object of the present invention to provide as a newarticle of manufacture a container for products under pressure which areto be dispensed in the form of an aerosol spray or a fluid jet, whichcontainer comprises dispensing and filling valve means, which may becombined in a single valve, and is essentially characterized by the factthat it comprises a strong perforated wall which resists the internalpressure and a bag of plastic material permeable to the gas butimpermeable to liquids, said bag having substantially the interior shapeof the resistant wall, and the inside of the bag being connected to theoutside of the container through the valve means.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the outer wall of thecontainer is perforated by numerous holes distributed over a substantialarea of this wall. The dispensing and filling valve is attached to a capcrimped to one end of the container, with the open end of the bag ofplastic material gripped between the periphery of the cap and the edgeof the container. The bag of plastic material is made of a sheet offlexible plastic material such, for example, as polyethylene, polyvinylchloride or the material sold under the trademark Rilsan.

The bag of plastic material is formed by blowing, or by heat sealing asheet of plastic material. The strong external wall of the container isa metallic wall made, for example, of aluminum or an aluminum alloy.

When the outer wall of the container is formed by stamping and drawing ametallic disc and then forming the base and the open end of the can,this wall has a cylindrical shape having no sharp angles and may beperforated by as many holes as desired after completion of the stampingoperation. The bag of plastic material is then placed inside themetallic can and attached to the metallic wall along with the fillingand the dispensing valve by crimping the periphery of the cap whichcarries said valve to the upper edge of the wall.

When the strong wall of the container is made from several piecesassembled together, the lateral part of the wall may have small piecesstamped out of it to form holes in a large portion thereof, which mayhave a decorative shape. The lateral part of the wall is then formedinto a cylinder and a base is crimped to one end of this lateral part.The other end is shaped to make it slightly conical. The bag of plasticmaterial is then introduced into the can and attached to the lateralwall by crimping it between the wall and the cap which carries thedispensing and filling valve.

In order to fill the container according to the invention, the desiredquantity of the product to be stored therein is introduced into the bagof plastic material before or after crimping of the cap to the wall.Then, after crimping of the cap, the desired quantity of propellant gaswhich will cause dispensing of the products stored therein underpressure is introduced through the valve. The product is dispensed byactuating the container valve, and is ejected in response to the forceexerted by the propellant gas in the form of a jet of fluid or anaerosol spray. Any of the gases conventionally used as propellants maybe selected for this purpose, and in particular the light hydrocarbonssuch as butane and propane and the chlorofluorinated hydrocarbons soldunder the trademarks Freon, such as trichlorofluoromethane,dichloro-difluoromethane, and dichlorotetrafluoroethane. It is obviousthat the quantity of propellant gas to be injected into the containeraccording to the invention must be selected in dependence on thediffusion of this propellant gas through the walls of plastic materialof the bag which encloses the stored product, in other words, independence on the average storage time of the container before use. Thequantity of gas introduced into the container must remain sufficient toproduce the desired operation when the user acts on the dispensingvalve, despite the loss of some of this gas by diffusion through thewall of the plastic bag.

It is also clear that in selecting the propellant gas it is necessary totake into account the nature of the prodnot to be stored so as to avoidany chemical interaction between the propellant gas and said product. Inorder that the container according to the invention may be used in allpositions it is necessary to provide the dispensing valve with 21depending tube extending the full depth of the bag which encloses theproduct to be dispensed. It will be appreciated that the containeraccording to the invention makes it possible to prevent the metallicwalls from being attached by the product stored therein, since thisproduct is separated from the metallic wall by the plastic wall of thebag which encloses it. Moreover, the gases resulting from decompositioncannot attack the metallic wall since after having diffused through theplastic wall of the inner bag, they escape into the atmosphere throughthe perforations in the lateral wall of the metallic can. This escape isfacilitated by the fact that the propellant gas diffuses at the sametime through the material of the plastic wall the inner bag and thusserves as a carrier and diluting gas. I have thus solved the problem ofinner corrosion of the metallic walls of the cans of this type.

Moreover, if the product stored is accidentally subjected to suddendecomposition and generation of gas an excessive pressure is producedwithin the plastic inner bag which increases the speed of evacuation ofthe gases of decomposition. However, if the excessive pressure is toogreat, producing a situation which would result in explosion of aconventional container, the bag of plastic material breaks in alignmentwith the perforations of the metallic can, thus permitting relief of theexcess pressure without producing any dangerous explosion. It will thusbe seen that the inner bag of plastic material serves as a safety valve.

in order that the object of the invention may be better understood therewill now be described, purely by way of illustration and example, apreferred embodiment of the invention, which is illustrated in theaccompanying drawing on which:

The single FIGURE shows in perspective a container under pressureaccording to the invention with onefourth of the wall thereof brokenaway.

Referring now to the drawing, it will be seen that the containeraccording to the invention comprises a bottom 1 which is slightly dishedand connected at its periphery to the lateral wall of the containerindicated by reference numeral 2. The annular joint formed between thebase 1 and lateral wall 2 carries reference numeral 3. At the end of thelateral wall 2 remote from the base 1 is a cap 4 which carries a centralfilling and dispensing valve 5 connected to a depending tube 6. The cap4 is connected to the lateral wall 2 by a crimped joint 7. The containeraccording to the invention is generally cylindrical in shape, but itsupper part is slightly conical.

The lateral wall 2 comprises three zones, the first of which, 2a, nearthe cap 4, is conical in shape. The second zone near the base 1 carriesreference numeral 2b. Between the zones 2a and 2b is the zone 2c. Thelateral wall 2 of the container according to the invention is made froma sheet of aluminum 1 millimeter thick. It has been stamped in themedian zone 2c to provide lozenge-shaped openings 8. The zone 2c thusappears to constitute a grille. The sheet which forms the lateral wallis then rolled into a cylinder, sealed along one of its generatrices,and the connected by crimping to the base 1 along the annular joint 8and finally formed into a conical shape in the zone 2a. A bag 9 made ofscaled polyethylene sheet material is then introduced into the metalliccan formed in this manner. The bag 9 has a wall 1 millimeter thick. Ithas a substantially cylindrical shape and its free end extends slightlybeyond the metallic can which contains it.

9,100 cm of a hair dyeing composition having the following formula isthen introduced into the bag:

-non lphenol condensed with 4 molecules of ethy ene oxide 23 g -nonlphenol condensed with 9 molecules of ethy ene oxide 25 g -copradiethanolamide 6 g -butylglycol 2 g pro7pylene glycol -20 0 ammonia-paratoluylene diamine -para-aminophenol -meta-diamine-anisol sulfate-meta-aminophenol -resorcinol -nitroparaphenylene diamine -hydroquinone-sodium salt of diethylene-triaminopentaacetic acid -sodium bisulfite-water, q.s.

The cap 4 provided with its valve 5 and depending tube 6 is thenpositioned above the open end of the metallic can and the cap iscrimped, together with the free end of the plastic bag 9, to the lateralwall of the container. 30 grams of dichloro-tetrafluoroethane are thenintroduced through the valve 5 so as to produce above the stored product10 a gaseous phase 11 under a pressure of 1.7 bars at 20C.

It has been found that a container made in this manner may be storedwith perfect satisfaction for 2 years at a temperature of 20C. At theend of this storage period there still remains within the container apressure of propellant gas sufficient to dispense the products storedtherein.

It will of course be appreciated that the embodiment hereinbeforedescribed has been given purely by way of illustration and example andmay be modified as to detail without thereby departing from the basicprinciples of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. Dispenser for storing fluids under pressure and equipped withdispensing and filling valve means, said container comprising a pressureresistant outer wall and an inner bag of plastic material permeable togas but impermeable to liquids, said bag having substantially the innershape of said pressure resistant wall, said-outer wall being providedwith a plurality of perforations extensively distributed thereover andproviding direct access to the ambient atmosphere for gas passingoutward through the greater portion of the wall of said bag, and theinterior of said bag being connected to the exterior of the containerthrough said valve means.

2. Container as claimed in claim 1 in which the dispensing and fillingvalve is attached to a cap which is attached to said outer wall by acrimped joint, with the open end of the bag of plastic material grippedin said joint between the cap and container wall.

3. Container as claimed in claim 1 in which the bag of plastic materialis made of a flexible plastic material selected from the groupconsisting of polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride and Rilsan.

4. Container as claimed in claim 1 in which the pressure resistant wallis made of a metal comprising aluminum.

1. Dispenser for storing fluids under pressure and equipped withdispensing and filling valve means, said container comprising a pressureresistant outer wall and an inner bag of plastic material permeable togas but impermeable to liquids, said bag having substantially the innershape of said pressure resistant wall, said outer wall being providedwith a plurality of perforations extensively distributed thereover andproviding direct access to the ambient atmosphere for gas passingoutward through the greater portion of the wall of said bag, and theinterior of said bag being connected to the exterior of the containerthrough said valve means.
 2. Container as claimed in claim 1 in whichthe dispensing and filling valve is attached to a cap which is attachedto said outer wall by a crimped joint, with the open end of the bag ofplastic material gripped in said joint between the cap and containerwall.
 3. Container as claimed in claim 1 in which the bag of plasticmaterial is made of a flexible plastic material selected from the groupconsisting of polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride and Rilsan.
 4. Containeras claimed in claim 1 in which the pressure resistant wall is made of ametal comprising aluminum.